Calabasas Students Walk Out To Support Teacher Wounded In LAX Shooting
CALABASAS (CBSLA.com) — Students at Calabasas High School walked out of their classes Tuesday to take a stand against gun violence and show support for Brian Ludmer, a teacher wounded during the shooting at Los Angeles International Airport.
KNX 1070's Megan Goldsby reports nearly 1,500 students gathered for the rally in the quad of the school located at 22855 West Mulholland Highway.
Calabasas Students Walk Out In Support Of Teacher Wounded During LAX Shooting
At 12:19 p.m., students put down their pencils and marched to the school's plaza, shouting "We love Ludmer!" and holding signs of support.
COMPLETE COVERAGE: LAX Shooting'
Rebecca, a junior at Calabasas High, is among those students taking stage crew classes from Ludmer, who is still recovering from a leg wound suffered in the shooting at Terminal 3 last Friday.
"I just feel like all this support would really help him, 'cause it must be really traumatizing to be in such an experience," Rebecca said.
Freshman Lindsey Leshner held a sign that read "The Show Must Go On" and said the whole dance program was showing their love for Ludmer.
"Mr. Ludmer, I only worked with you once but you're a great teacher and a strong human being," said junior Lauren Meltzer.
Calabasas Mayor Fred Gaines was also on hand for the rally to show support for the 29-year-old Ludmer, who was at LAX headed to a wedding in his hometown of Chicago when the Nov. 1 shooting rampage began.
"Thankfully, Brian is going to be all right. He has a long road to recovery but this is a teachable moment for our students at Calabasas," principal CJ Foss said. "The students want to show their support of Mr. Ludmer and take a stance against gun violence, and this is how they decided to go about it."
KCAL9's Bobby Kaple reports Ludmer was able to watch the walkout from start to finish on FaceTime.
In a letter to friends, family and students, Ludmer wrote: "I'm overwhelmed by your thoughts and prayers and I just want to let everyone know I'm going to be okay."
Ludmer told the Associated Press on Tuesday that he crawled to escape suspected gunman Paul Ciancia and used a sweatshirt as a tourniquet after his leg was shattered by a bullet.
Ludmer is recovering at UCLA Medical Center; doctors say he is expected to make a full recovery.
His family set up an online fundraiser to help him with medical bills. For information or to donate, click here.
